Friends We Won't Forget
by Jameson Rook
Summary: "The boys hadn't had a night to themselves since Ryan's bachelor party/case investigation in Atlantic City, but they figured that Castle and Beckett getting married was enough reason for them to celebrate. " Ryan/Esposito/Castle friendship


_**Disclaimer: Castle and all of its characters belong to Andrew W. Marlowe, Terri Edda Miller, and ABC Studio Productions. "Friends We Won't Forget" belongs to Lee Brice. **_

**"Here's to the nights we don't remember,**

**And the friends we won't forget."**

**~"Friends We Won't Forget" Lee Brice**

The night was warm and quiet as they stumbled through the damp alleyway. The chorus of some drunken Irish song that Ryan had taught them that night echoed off of the brick walls. The boys hadn't had a night to themselves since Ryan's bachelor party/case investigation in Atlantic City, but they figured that Castle and Beckett getting married was enough reason for them to celebrate.

Ryan had his arm slung over Esposito's shoulders, and Esposito had his slung over Castle and Ryan's. The three of them had formed a chain to keep one another upright as they made their way back towards Castle's loft. The evening had started with more shots of tequila than any of them had cared to count and fountains of scotch. Oh, and beers? There had definitely been beers.

All of that had combined had led to some very discoordinated karaoke at The Old Haunt, and a rather disgruntled bouncer that had told them that, even though they had the owner with them, they were being cut off and that they should go home. The bouncer, Simon as they recalled, had offered to call them a cab, but Castle had insisted that they walked back to his loft.

_ "The city is alive with the brisk fall winds! We must embrace it!"_ He had mused, his hands thrown over his head and gesturing toward illuminated skyline. Ryan and Esposito had shaken their heads, making some comment about his 'author vocabulary', but they had indulged him anyway.

They were only a few blocks away from the loft when Ryan spoke.

"You know...I just, I just wanted to tell you guys something." He slurred, wagging his finger matter-of-factly. "I love you guys. Seriously. Like, I _love_ you. You guys are my best friends."

"No way, bro. I totally love you guys more." Castle replied, glancing at the men on either side of him.

"You're both wrong. I win." Esposito replied. Castle and Ryan both looked at him curiously. "I win because I was in the military. I outrank you. Therefore, I win." The other men opened their mouths to protest, but seemed to think better of it and shrugged. The rest of the walk to the loft was a blur of near mishaps involving falling off of the curb intro traffic and nearly stepping on a small dog, but before they knew it, they fell through the door of the loft into a heap on the floor.

**x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x**

Ryan's head was pounding when he woke the next morning and he stumbled to his feet. He glanced at where Ryan and Esposito were strewn across the couch and arm chair. He scratched his head, confused, and headed towards the smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen.

Kate was smirking at him from across the room, a mug of coffee clutched in her hands.

"Hey there, sunshine. Did you have fun last night?" He groaned and almost replied to her, but the other two men stumbling in cut him off. Ryan and Eposito collapsed onto the barstools at the breakfast bar.

"Oh my God." Esposito mumbled.

"I have the worst hangover that any Irishman has ever had in history." Ryan grumbled into his hands.

"So, how much of last night do you remember?" Kate asked, the smirk still plastered to her face. The men all stared at her blankly. She pulled her phone from her pocket and put it on speaker before playing her voice mail. Their voices filtered through the speakers. They all vaguely recalled the 'I love you' conversation, and they stared at the phone, their mouths agape.

"How did...what..." Castle stammered.

"You must have called me from your pocket, and it left a voicemail. It's about three minutes long. And it gets a hell of a lot weirder..." She chuckled, scrolling through her phone. She held it out in front of her, showing them a photo of the three of them with their arms curled around each other sleeping. "Guess you guys are closer friends then I thought so, huh?"

"We are never drinking. Ever again." Esposito mumbled, glaring at the other men.

"_Ever_." Ryan agreed.

"And this never leaves this room..." Castle added. Kate chuckled and shook her head. "What's so funny?" He questioned.

"Yeah, why are you laughing?" The boys replied in tandem. Kate took a moment to regain her composure before responding.

"I sent it to Lanie." The boys may not have completely remembered the night of Richard Castle's final bachelor party, but Kate and Lanie would be _damned_ if they ever let them live it down...

_**Thoughts? Drop me a review and let me know.**_

_** Much love,**_

_** J. Rook**_


End file.
